Mapping Toolbox

rad2km, rad2nm, rad2sm

Convert distance from radians to kilometers, nautical miles, or statute miles

Syntax

• distout = rad2km(distin)
  distout = deg2km(distin,radius)
  distout = rad2nm(distin)
  distout = rad2nm(distin,radius)
  distout = rad2sm(distin)
  distout = rad2sm(distin,radius)
  

Description

distout = rad2km(distin) converts the input distance given in radians to kilometers.

distout = rad2nm(distin)and distout = rad2sm(distin)work identically, except that the output units are nautical miles and statute miles, respectively.

distout = rad2km(distin,radius)specifies the radius of the sphere to use, since a radian of arc length covers less distance, for example, on Mars than it would on the Earth. You can enter the radius as a number in kilometers, as a call to the almanac function (e.g., almanac('mars','radius','km')), again in the appropriate units, or you can pass in a string planet name (e.g., 'mars'), and the function will make the appropriate call to the almanac function. The radius of the Earth is the default.

For distout = rad2nm(distin,radius)and distout = rad2sm(distin,radius) make sure your input radius is in the appropriate units, or just use the planet name string.

Examples

How long is a trip around the Equator in statute miles?

• distout = rad2sm(2*pi)
  distout =
     2.4874e+04
  

How about on Jupiter?

• distout = rad2sm(2*pi,'jupiter')
  distout =
     2.7284e+05
  

See Also

distdim	Convert distances between different units
nm2km sm2deg	Other direct distance conversion functions
rad2deg	Convert radians to degrees

rad2dms, rad2dm

rc2yx